


Worthy

by Jonana



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst??, Dream never lost all attachment, Gen, Gogy is still king, Tommy blew up the Community House, i know it’s a bit late but who cares, im not really sure, villain arc pog??
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:41:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28949100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jonana/pseuds/Jonana
Summary: “The discs were worth more than you ever were!”The Community House is in ruin, Dream wants revenge, and Tommy is given a decision.This time, he chooses Technoblade.A rushed fic I wrote on impulse and peer pressure.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 122





	1. Another Festival

**Author's Note:**

> OK so there’s a story with this one
> 
> I was surfing through Pinterest, and basically saw a pin with Technoblade crowning Tommy— both were wearing arctic uniforms, and Tommy was holding the discs (apparently it’s from Twitter, Diamondrosy7 I think it said). ANYWAY I commented about making a fanfic, and ppl replied asking for it.
> 
> So, naturally, I stayed up every night for two weeks formulating a plot and writing the first chapter.
> 
> I never actually looked at the tweet or the artist, I just took everything from that specific pin.

They were preparing for a fight.

Technoblade’s cabin was alight and buzzing with activity, warm light shining through the closed crosshatch windows and into the snowy night. Inside, villagers hummed and bottles clinked, chests were opened and closed and opened again. Brewing stands bubbled and steamed, the smell of carrots and sugar and the Nether stuffing the small space. Weapons were laid on a cracked anvil to be sharpened, the grindstone blade was spinning, and an enderchest was left open with some user’s belongings laid out for anyone to see.

Three players inhabited the house, dressed in blue colors and furs. Two were anxious and battle-ready, while the third was leaning with his back to the wall, a wistful smile on his face as he watched the others brew and supply. This was Philza, the eldest, and the only one not involved with any war or conflict— at the moment, at least. He was the one with the tested face and wise eyes, the tired “father figure” of too many to count, the old hand with a young heart. His shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair was buried under a striped bucket hat, a little braid sticking out from just behind his ear.

Technoblade was next, the owner of the cabin. His eyes were hard and his gaze was cold, yet a remnant of something rueful and knowing hid in his generally unreadable expression. His long, pink hair was tied back and decked with a crown, leaving room for the ice-blue cape to flow past his shoulders. He seemed the most stressed, though he tried not to show it, gathering and distributing all of the potions and sharpening his sword with a set jaw.

Tommy was the youngest, a teen, as well as the most rambunctious. He talked in a loud voice with expressive hand gestures, brilliant diamond-blue eyes wide and expressive. While his passion was admirable, his older brother seemed to find him more annoying than anything. The fact that he hadn’t done much to help so far proved it, too. His blonde hair was short and fluffed, his bulky clothes— which were clearly secondhand, from just one look— fell past his hands and boots and billowed out under tightly-strapped netherite armor.

Technoblade sheathed his shining sword after a while and put on gloves with a huff. Heavy pieces of armor clinged to both him and Tommy, an array of colorful potions hanging from a belt at their waists. More weapons— including axes, swords, tridents, and bows— were placed in their own sheaths or hidden in the players’ inventories. They seemed ready for anything, prepared enough to take on as many as the entire server.

“Tommy, is there anything else you need, in terms of equipment?” he asked, the aforementioned teenager already halfway out the doorway. Tommy peeked his head back inside, but kept the spruce door open, allowing snow to blow into the cabin and pile on the floor. Philza watched it and chuckled.

Tommy’s eyes flicked upwards. “Uhm… give me a bit to think.”

“Imagine everyone on the server, and judge based on that,” Phil suggested.

Techno examined himself one last time, every inch of armor and piece of equipment. “We’ve got to make sure we’ve got _everything_ we need. I’ve got weakness arrows— I haven’t made fireworks, but who cares— _Orphan Obliterator_ , I’ve got—”

“Hey, hey, hey!” Tommy ran up to him suddenly, the door slamming loudly behind him, and cutting the draft. “Ooh, I know what I want. Technoblade, can I have the _Axe of Peace_? The _Axe of Peace_ , I deserve it.”

The older looked him over. His brother’s eyes were wide and pleading, nearly covered with the bright-green turtle shell helmet Techno had given him not too long ago, which Tommy wore without buckling the straps. He clearly wasn’t being serious, but now that Techno really thought about it…

He sighed, turned around and opened his enderchest. 

Techno remembered the exact day Tommy had first shown up at his cabin— or, rather, when he discovered the kid was living under his floorboards. Tommy had run from exile with the server admin, and went straight to his brother. His clothes were torn, exposing deathly pale skin and it was a _miracle_ he hadn’t gotten frostbite. Any armor he had on looked ready to snap in half and drop from his body, yet his spirit had somehow improved, and he talked like himself after days around no one but Dream, even through chattering teeth.

He would be lying if he said he hadn’t been worried. When he had last seen Tommy, on his first day in exile, he had been depressed, distraught, and confused. And now that he’d finally escaped from Dream, Tommy acted normal, if not louder and more impassioned than he had been in L’Manberg. It made Techno wonder what the admin had done to him, had told him. Dream was the only person Tommy had been allowed to talk to, and sometimes he insisted the admin was still his friend.

Except, Techno knew he wasn’t. Dream and Tommy were enemies, yet the former had somehow managed to convince Tommy that he was an ally. Fortunately, he’d known better and ran at his first chance, crawling his way from the plains and ocean shore into the center of the Arctic Commune.

Tommy’s face lit up when he pulled the weapon out, his jaw to the floor. The long wooden handle was strong and steady, supporting a heavy, enchanted netherite blade. Techno lifted the axe with ease and stood in front of his teammate with it laid across his palms.

“Tommy, this is a lot of responsibility,” he spoke in a low voice. “Are you sure you’re ready to hold this weapon?”

Tommy blinked. “Wait, you’re act— yes!”

At first, Technoblade had been furious with the teenager after discovering he had hidden in his home, and asked him to leave immediately. Then he thought about it a second time, and came up with a better option that might help the both of them. 

_“Alright, Tommy, listen here,”_ he’d said sharply. _He forced himself to breathe and softened his voice. “You know, you want your discs back. L’Manberg took everything from you.”_

And that was exactly what happened. His country had exiled him. His _best friend_ had been the one to make the choice.

_“Those guys? They exiled you, they left you for dead, whatever Dream did to you happened. They took everything from you, and you know what? They tried to take everything from me.”_

L’Manberg had made an attempt to execute the Blood God, for his “crimes” against the country. It didn’t work, of course— the only thing they got from it were his weapons and his armor. Which he could get back, easy.

 _“I’m thinkin’, Tommy, there’s two things we can do here: one, you could get out of my house, you_ can’t _stay here.” He grinned. “Or, we could team up. We could take down L’Manberg, and we could get your discs back.”_

As expected, Tommy had been hesitant to take the last deal. He’d agreed to it however, and had proceeded to help Techno in getting his gear back, earn new gear of his own, and plan a surprise attack on L’Manberg in an attempt to retrieve his music discs.

“Well, you know what? In light of your recent achievements, you are worthy.”

Technoblade held the axe out, allowing Tommy to grasp it firmly, and handle it for the first time. He tested the grip, its weight, and even swung a few times at the air, all with a grin that reached his ears. Techno barely, _barely_ regretted it— it was a powerful weapon, and his brother had done so much to prove himself honorable of wielding it. 

Philza clapped, and Techno smirked. “You’re worthy. You’re gonna kill so many people with that axe, Tommy. We’ll be causing _so much_ chaos.”

“I’m worthy,” he whispered, before pumping a fist into the air and chanting, “Let’s go! Let’s go!”

Tommy barged back outside of the cabin and into the blizzard, driving Technoblade to follow behind him. Before they got out of earshot, Phil yelled jokingly to them from the porch, “Goodbye, you two, have fun! Don’t kill too many people!”

. . .

The blizzard had shifted into a rainstorm by the time they reached the ocean.

At the other end of the sea was the shore of The Greater Dream SMP, which was right next to where they needed to be. And, since Tommy didn’t own a trident with _Riptide_ , Techno was forced to resist the urge of leaving him in the dust, and travel by boat instead.

It wasn’t thundering, but the wind and rain alone aggravated the ocean enough to annoy them, and they were already running late. The wind roared and the sky was soured with billowing dark clouds. Rain pelted down, distorting the water and violently tossing the boats. Technoblade tightened the grip on his oars. At least he wasn’t riding with Tommy.

For a moment the storm seemed to die down, the wind slowing, but the rain still falling just as hard. Tommy’s boat stopped looking ready to flip, and he rowed harder to catch up with Techno while the water was calm.

He lifted his head. “So, what is the plan?”

Techno only slowed down a little bit, pausing to roll his eyes. “Alright. So, what we’re gonna do is, we’re going to the festival— and, now we don’t actually have _that_ precise of a plan, we’re mostly just seeing if there’s an opportunity to get your discs back,” he stopped to breathe, “ _or_ an opportunity to destroy L’Manberg.”

“So, you’re gonna help me?” Tommy asked, eyes lighting up. “You’re actually gonna help me get my discs back?”

Techno hesitated, holding his oars in place. “If I’m able to help you, Tommy, I will.”

Tommy smiled briefly and looked away. “Um, so we’re gonna get my discs back… then what about Tubbo? What if— what if—”

“If we see a chance to kill Tubbo, we can take it.”

“—as long as, ugh. I know Dream was the wrongen. I know he was the wrongen. I know he was bad and stupid.” Tommy spoke it with bite, with malice. Finally, he was seeing clearly, how Dream had manipulated him. Then he stopped. “No, wait, wha— what did you just say about a chance to kill Tubbo? What the heck?”

“I thought— bro, he’s got the disc, how else are you gonna get it?”

“Nononono.” Tommy’s boat hurled over a wave, rocking him suddenly in his seat. “We get the disc off _Dream_ , and then we get the one—”

“Wait, we’re fighting Dream?”

Technoblade chuckled, despite himself. There was _no_ way they could take on Dream, especially not today. Neither of them were even close to prepared for a fight like that, and who was to say he would yield the disc even after his death?

“Wait, wait— Techno, holdup. Tubbo’s not that bad!”

“Tubbo’s _pretty bad_.”

“Listen to me, listen to me.” Tommy stopped rowing altogether, halting their trip, but his tone was serious. “The thing I _know_ about Tubbo is that he wouldn’t give away the disc. That’s like, the last thing he would do. However, if I get the one off _Dream_ …” he trailed off, moving again.

Techno hoped he was right. Though their relationship was declining at the moment, he knew Tommy and Tubbo had once considered each other best friends. The disc saga had started with the two of them, and he hoped Tubbo wouldn’t give up one of them so easily. 

But— and this is where he struggled, where any hope of victory seemed to fall apart.

“You see, the thing is— how are you gonna get— _how_ are you gonna get it from Dream?” Techno asked, gravely. “I’m gonna need a viable plan, because if you want me to fight Dream…”

Tommy scoffed. “Well, I reckon we can take Dream, he’s— me and you. And, it is a festival, mate, I dunno.”

“Hey, you’re the one against Dream, I’m not against Dream.”

“No, We’re a _team_! The dynamic duo!”

“We’re teaming up against the _government_ ,” Technoblade reminded. Land appeared and was moving towards them, an icy taiga, like the one they’d just left. They were getting close.

“And the _government_ has my disc,” Tommy retorted.

Techno sighed. “Look, listen. We can debate this in the future, but my focus right now is on destroying the government, as I’ve said.”

“Mkay. Well, as long as our paths still align to get back the discs, that’s okay.”

They really didn’t, as of that moment, but Techno ignored that. They’d have to wait and see what happened.

“Listen, we’ll head to the festival, it’s fine.”

. . .

“Wait— it’s _gone_.”

Any anger or confusion from earlier was quickly replaced with a rush of terror. The group was brought to silence, all four of them stood frozen with mouths agape.

The site was a nightmare. The building was blown to shreds, stone and brick in piles at the bottom of the lake, where its foundation used to sit. Wooden planks floated gently on the water. A few fragments of the original walls stuck out, piercing the body of water and pointing to the sky, like grasping, scraping hands. 

“It’s all gone!”

“Wait, you’re saying—”

“ _Tommy_ did this?”

Dream scowled, dropping his arm from where it was extended towards the ruin. No one had seen him this angry before, this surprised. No one needed to see his eyes to tell— raw fury dripped from his form and voice alone.

“Tommy blew up the Community House,” he spit. “He had to, he’s the _only_ person who would do this! And we were _this close_ to peace!”

Dream’s voice raised as he went on, yet he sounded like he was trying to convince himself. 

Tubbo shook his head slowly, calmly, even during the admin’s outburst. “No. We had nothing to do with this, Dream.”

Fundy nodded quickly in reply. “This has _nothing_ to do with us!”

There was a beat of silence, the sound of rushing water filling for background noise. Everything around the wreck was covered in a thick layer of dust, most likely from the explosion itself. The water was muddied and foggy.

He looked over the group. From L’Manberg’s president, Tubbo, to Fundy, to Quackity, then Ranboo. Dream stopped at Ranboo for a moment longer than the rest, eyeing him warily. They were the only five at the wreck at that moment, but more people were showing up at the edges of the lake, and coming closer for a better look.

“You’re telling me you didn’t know at all?” he asked. 

A few blocks away, on the Prime Path, hidden from any eyes— was Tommy and Technoblade. They’d downed invis potions a few minutes ago, and now they were here.

Nothing had gone as planned. Instead of celebrating a festival, Dream had shown up to yell about the bad news. The Community House was gone, and he was blaming Tommy.

Techno placed a hand he couldn’t see on a shoulder next to him, one he knew for certain was Tommy’s. He gripped it threateningly, and heard the teen turn to him.

“Did you do this?” he whispered sharply.

This was serious, it could change all of their plans and turn them in the other direction. Tommy didn’t reply. 

Techno tightened his grip, and felt him flinch. “Tommy, _this is bad_.”

“It was worth it, okay?” came the whispered answer.

The server admin took a deep breath, as if genuinely trying to calm down. “Alright, this is what needs to happen,” he told L’Manberg. “He needs to pay for this. He can’t just— listen, this is _terrorism_! This is the _worst_ thing to happen to the server. This is the _oldest building_ on the _entire server_.”

Tubbo ran a hand over his face. “I just can’t believe he would do this.”

“But we’re getting— I don’t get it, what affiliates us to him?” Quackity whined. “Why do we have to suffer for _his_ actions?”

“Yeah, exactly!” Fundy replied. 

Ranboo and Fundy looked more worried and afraid than anything, however, even in such a horrifying situation— because they knew they had, at one point, associated with Tommy and Technoblade. Even if it wasn’t their faults, they were the reason Techno had his armor and weapons back. On separate occasions, they were pressured— threatened, to return them. They _knew_ Tommy had been in the SMP. They _knew_ he’d teamed with Techno.

Tubbo had seen Tommy around too, once, though he continued to deny it. Either he didn’t count that one time and was defending him, in disbelief that he had actually blown up the Community House, or he was lying.

“Because Tubbo is the President, and Tubbo has the disc,” was Dream’s answer.

“But how is that—”

“Aren’t you supposed to be the one who’s watching him?” Ranboo asked.

Tubbo cocked his head. “You’re to enforce his exile, Dream, how does this come down on us?”

“How am I meant to enforce his exile, if I don’t have the disc?”

The look on every L’Manberg citizen was enough to reveal their complete and utter confusion. In Techno’s eyes, it was easy to see how desperate Dream was being. He seemed genuinely shocked, angry, and his way of channeling that was in the opportunity of gaining Tommy’s last disc. 

“You have one of them, do you not?”

“I have _one_ of them,” Dream argued. “I need both.”

Tubbo stepped back, taking a moment to process everything. “You need… both.”

Punz’s voice chirped in from above. The man was leaning over a remnant of the second floor, in all of his armored glory, with a trident in hand. “The disc needs to be handed over and burned, right now.” He sounded mad, too.

Dream nodded. “Yeah, Punz has been around, Punz knows.” He looked up, and laughed. “Look, everyone’s here. Callahan’s even here! _Callahan’s_ even here to see the destruction.”

The admin was right, more people had climbed to the second floor to witness from above. Everyone looked distressed, though some eyes were more broken than others. These included Bad, Awesamdude, Sapnap, and Callahan, a server moderator, who had all been there at the beginning of the SMP— others were Punz and Ponk, and more were coming.

“This doesn’t have anything to do with L’Manberg!” Ranboo argued.

“This isn’t _our fault_ , we didn’t do this!”

“Fine. You’re right, you’re right, I won’t blame you,” the admin assured. “But I need the disc.”

“What?”

Technoblade reached to grab Tommy— but didn’t feel anything. He waved around the air for a bit, looked around, and promptly had a stroke. Tommy couldn’t have left his spot for the Community House, did he? Surely, he hadn’t headed _towards_ the massive group of people.

Techno got up and inched closer to the building. What was he thinking, this was _Tommy_ he was talking about. He walked the path connecting the house to the shore, and hearing footsteps behind him, turned around. Eret and Puffy had shown up as well, and Jack, HBomb, and Niki were right behind them. In a moment of panic, he hid behind a wooden pillar, thanking himself for bringing invisibility potions.

“There must be another way, surely,” the President responded.

Dream shook his head. “There’s not another way, Tubbo.”

“But, I don’t— is one not enough?”

“No! Because if you have one, he’ll always have faith that he can just get it back. If you want nothing to do with Tommy, then have nothing to do with Tommy, don’t associate yourself by having one of the most prized possessions on the server.” Dream sighed. “Listen, I need the disc.”

Suddenly, a new voice interrupted, spiking worse fear into Technoblade than if Tubbo had actually given up the disc. 

“No!” Tommy contended. “No, no, li— you can’t—”

Techno looked up, and saw Tommy’s turtle helmet floating over a set of armor— he’d walked right into the middle of them, and was stood in front of Dream. 

“What?”

“Uh… Tommy?”

Everything had gone dead silent, shock evident on every face that could be seen. Tommy’s form quivered as he was put at the center of attention, the hot sun beating down on him from the top of the sky.

Dream’s lip curled, and he shifted to holding his sword— his hands shaking suddenly, clearly not from fear, but rage.

“Tommy, you’ve messed up,” was all he said. “Look, Tubbo’s gonna give me the disc—”

“No, no, Dream. Does this look like something _I_ would do?”

By now, Technoblade had donned every piece of equipment that he could and appeared at Tommy’s side. Even if he already loomed over many of the people surrounding them, he hadn’t been acknowledged. He figured they’d act differently when he wasn’t invisible.

“ _YES_!”

Everybody started screaming at Tommy at once, and he recoiled, stepping the tiniest bit behind Techno. 

He cleared his throat. “Guys, Tommy didn’t do this, okay?” At the sound of Techno’s all-too familiar, gravelly voice, the area quickly went quiet again. Every L’Manberg citizen seemed to take a step back. “Tommy didn’t do this.”

Fundy started, the fox’s ears flattening against his head. “Th-that’s _Techno_? Why are you both here?” Suddenly the two strangers looked a lot more threatening.

“Oh, _okay_ , Technoblade,” Dream scoffed instead.

“Okay, listen, listen,” Techno raised his hands, one of them still holding his sword. “I know I’m probably not the most reliable person— but Tommy wouldn’t lie to me, he said he didn’t do it.”

A half-truth, Tommy didn’t lie. Ironic.

“He lied about burning George’s house!” the admin snapped.

“I—”

“He _would_ lie to you, but not to me.”

Dream’s temper seemed to spike again. With the mask still covering his face, it was beginning to feel unsettling. “He is the _biggest liar_ on the server,” he flared. “Techno, I don’t think this even involves you.”

Techno stopped himself from rolling his eyes. “I didn’t want to be involved either, but I suppose that’s what’s happened.”

Tubbo chirped in suddenly. His scopes were on Tommy.

“I mean, even the fact that you’re here kind of proves the point— you’re not where you’re supposed to be.”

“ _Yeah_ , yeah, well we thought we could— we thought we—”

Technoblade turned to him. “You’re out here, accusing him of crimes, and you’re saying just defending himself makes him guilty?”

“He’s not even supposed to be here!” Dream retorted. “Tubbo, just give me the disc.”

Tubbo hesitated, biting his lip. “I’m… I just…”

The President rested his hand on the enderchest beside them, paused, then lifted the lid. At first glance, Techno could see riches, weapons, mob skulls… and a collection of music discs. Tubbo’s eyes skimmed over to those.

Tommy jumped, taking sudden action and pushing Tubbo away from the chest. The lid slammed shut. “Woah, _woah_ , stop it!” he chided. “Stop— you’re not gonna give him the disc, are you?”

“You’ve literally proven, time and time again, that you can’t be trusted!”

“Wha— no, no, no, but you _can’t_ give him the disc, because as soon as we take him down, y’know, we’ll be fine— we’ll be back!”

Tommy sounded pleading, his voice taking an emotional turn. It worried Techno for a second. He actually _missed_ Tubbo, he was still attached.

But the President’s eyes went cold, and he shook his head. “I don’t think that’s an option anymore.”

Tommy blinked, taken aback. Technoblade subtly shifted his splash potions to the front of his inventory, to be ready at a moment’s notice. He didn’t see this heading in a good direction.

Tommy sighed, gaze on his feet. He gripped the axe he was holding tightly, but he was yet to raise it. “You spend all this time… you do all these speeches talking about how _I_ was a bad friend.” His voice hitched. “H-how I was the one going out and being reckless, and doing things, and being bad… but, you wouldn’t even stick up for me, right at my lowest point. Do— do you _know_ what he did to me in exile?”

Tubbo was quiet for a second. Tommy turned Dream’s direction briefly, in what anyone could guess was a glare. 

“No!” Tubbo snapped. “I thought you died!”

“You don’t. You don’t!” Tommy yelled. “And you didn’t come and see me, and you still don’t care I’m here. You know what?” He lowered his voice. “You’re the bad friend.”

“Yeah, well at least— Tommy, this has your name written _all_ over it!”

“It— it wasn’t me!”

“You are acting _exactly_ as you acted when you burnt down George’s house.”

Tommy growled. “I don’t need to prove myself to you, trust me! For once in your life, Tubbo, trust me!”

“I did trust you, once.” Tubbo replied. He took a step back, nearer to the chest. “The first time this happened. I don’t want to make the same mistake twice.”

He turned completely to the enderchest, before lifting the lock and opening it again. Tubbo pulled out the disc— _Mellohi_ , the record with the purple-and-white striped middle— and looked Tommy dead in the eyes, or where he thought they were, with it in his hand. 

“Don’t you dare.”

Tommy’s axe was shaking now. Techno was praying that he used it.

The entire area seemed to hold its breath, Dream included. People balancing on platforms far away looked around at the water, a few dead salmon floating sadly on the surface. The ones that were closer stuck to the edge of the largest platform, where Tommy and everyone else was, watching with wide eyes. Tubbo switched the disc for his own axe, and with his other hand, lifted a shield. 

“You betrayed me,” Tommy spoke. “You know that, right? You betrayed me!”

“I didn’t betray you, _you_ betrayed everything you had built!”

“ _You betrayed me_! This is what Wil— y’know what, you got your axe up?”

Tubbo lifted the shield to his chin and nodded. “Mm hmm.”

Techno started, realizing the situation. “Tommy.” He pulled out his crossbow, pointing it at nearly every person surrounding them. “There’s like thirty people here, Tommy. Whatever you decide—”

Tommy jumped, finally raising the _Axe of Peace_ before lodging its blade in Tubbo’s shield. Tubbo swung back and skimmed his cheek.

“—do it wisely, _ohh_ , we’re going in.”

Techno raised his arm and splashed five bottles on himself and Tommy— _swiftness, fire resistance, strength, regeneration,_ and _potion of the turtle master_ — he used it for the resistance. Then he pulled out his sword and went for the crowd.

“Woah, _woah_ —”

“Don’t actually, wai— don’t actually!”

Distantly, he could hear Ranboo muttering as the hybrid left the scene. Even a L’Manberg citizen, he was the only one who Technoblade would spare.

Meanwhile, Tommy and Tubbo were trading hits that hurt, whether they landed or not. Tubbo switched to his sword mid-swing and used that instead, forcing Tommy to pull out a shield. The attack eventually sent him into the lake, like most of Techno’s other victims.

His helmet broke through the surface. “You _betrayed_ me!” he gasped.

“No, _you_ failed the nation!” Tubbo shouted from the platform.

“Everything, everything! This is what Wilbur wanted. He wanted you to betray everyone, to forget what was right!”

“You gave up on L’Manberg!” Tubbo retaliated. “You betrayed everyone when you went off and teamed with the very person that blew up the nation!”

Tommy pulled himself out of the water and knocked Tubbo back with his weapon. “You left me to die!”

He downed a golden apple before Tubbo could knock him back. The sound of a diamond sword thundered against much better, heavier netherite armor.

“ _You teamed up with the very pers_ —”

“Tubbo, the _discs_!” Their weapons collided, bringing them to a temporary deadlock as Tommy shouted. “The discs were worth more than _you ever were_.”

Tubbo blinked, drawn thoroughly speechless. Even Technoblade’s background noise was nearly silenced, the people stopping in their tracks to process what Tommy had just claimed. Dream, the single person untouched, turned his head curiously to them.

“What…?” someone in the back whispered.

“Oh no.”

Wide, powder-blue eyes locked on Tommy, Tubbo shook his head slightly, his mouth opening and closing, his grip on his sword trembling. “Did you mean…?”

Tommy’s invisibility finally wore off. His face was scrunched into a scowl, his expression serious and _angry_. For a small, small moment he seemed to realize what he’d said, but...

His eyes hardened and he strengthened his grasp, knocking Tubbo down in one swift movement with the axe. The President barely caught himself with the palms of his hands, staring up at Tommy in astonishment. In fear.

Tommy took the moment to look around, to breathe, after Techno began to take the others’ attentions for a bit longer. Some were on the shore. Most were in the water and bolting, and the last few unfortunate ones were being attacked by Technoblade— namely Fundy. 

Dream hadn’t left, but he was watching the others, his back to Tommy and Tubbo. Tommy saw Technoblade glance at him briefly at a moment of break, then he pulled out an enderpearl and teleported to the wreck.

“Tommy…?” he asked hesitantly. He was panting, but desperately trying to hide it. Techno’s soaked coat and cape dripped and puddled at his feet, and his hands held his weapon and a stack of more enderpearls.

The teen took a breath, arms shaking. 

“Tommy, _pearl_. I can cover your escape,” Techno offered, keeping his voice low. Dream, however, had turned to look at them, as well as a couple from the distance. 

Vaguely, Tommy noted that Dream looked… distressed, and torn. Every time he even glanced Tommy’s direction, he tensed, yet he hadn’t moved. It was as if he wanted to fight, but knew he couldn’t— or shouldn’t. Tommy used to know that feeling all too well, but with the normally unshaken admin, it was much more disturbing.

Tommy swallowed. “Are we…”

“Regrouping, yes. Let’s go.”

Tubbo had gotten up by now, but was immediately escorted away from the platform by Quackity. As Tommy tossed his pearl in the direction of the server Nether portal, Technoblade turned on his heel to everybody else, and raised his sword again.

As Tommy ran through the Nether, Techno covered him in a fight with a majority of the server. And even after the Blood God had left himself, Dream and the rest of L’Manberg stuck around. 

Dream hadn’t finished.

He narrowed his scopes on the President again, walking up to the younger on the Prime Path, one hand extended out, expectantly. “Well, Tubbo? You _saw_ what Tommy did here, he doesn’t care about anything, anything but the discs. Tubbo, you need to give it to me.”

Tubbo restrained himself from stepping back. His cabinet was behind him, and he shared a glance with Quackity. The Secretary of State shook his head firmly.

Turning back to Dream, he truly looked like he wanted to curl in on himself. But Tubbo stood his ground.

“I know Tommy gave me the disc, but it holds too much power to just give away. And what he’s done definitely won’t get him _Mellohi_ from me anymore.” Tubbo shook his head, sighing. “I’m not giving up the disc, Dream.”

Dream’s hand tightened into a fist, before he retracted it quickly. 

“Then we talk about the Community House,” he replied. “It was obviously Tommy’s doing, but he couldn’t have done something like this alone, and Techno wouldn’t risk this.” Then the admin’s gaze shifted slowly over Tubbo’s head, to someone behind him. “Let’s talk, Tubbo. I have a good idea I know who it was.”


	2. This Isn’t Blackmail

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m already behind schedule on this thing smh

Tommy wrapped his arms around himself, tossing the edges of his cape over his shoulders as he and Technoblade trekked through a foot and some of soft, fresh snow. While he was curled in on himself, teeth chattering, Techno walked with a stride and indifferent expression, as if it wasn’t already below freezing. Then again, he had lived in arctic conditions before, and for a while.

The clear sky allowed the sun to reflect off the unblemished, sparkling snow plain and fill Tommy’s vision with bright white, forcing him to squint and almost blindly follow the man in front of him to his cabin. Eventually, the brown blotches in front of them could be recognized as the honey farm, Techno’s cabin, and Tommy and Ghostbur’s house. Tommy’s cobble tower had come into view a while ago, the stale-gray structure scraping the blue, and next to the honey farm, Phil was building what looked to be a farm for nether wart, filled with soulsand and encased in wooden logs, with what looked to be a water-based collecting system.

He grinned and waved when he spotted them, Techno waving back before stepping onto the soulsand to talk to Philza. Tommy, still shivering, avoided any eye contact and stared at his boots as he walked.

“Hey, how’d it go?” Phil asked, hiding the logs he’d been holding in his inventory. Techno frowned, looking elsewhere for just a moment, and Tommy stayed quiet, focusing on the icy cold that was stabbing his skin rather than the conversation.

“Very bad,” Technoblade deadpanned.

Phil grimaced, turning more fully to the two of them. Techno looked drained, but Tommy was completely out of it. His eyes were unfocused, and the only thing he seemed to be concentrating on was keeping his arms warm. The teen looked exhausted and spacey— he was either thinking of something else or trying not to think at all. 

Techno spared Tommy a glance, then looked back at Phil. “Well… it could’ve been worse, actually,” he admitted. “The festival was a disaster, but we might’ve gotten somewhere in the end.”

“Hmm.” Phil raised his eyebrows.

Techno nodded. “We need to revitalize. We’ll be in the cabin, making new plans.” He nudged Tommy with his shoulder before turning to the house.

Philza smiled. “Okay, take your time. I’ll be in in a bit.”

Tommy absently followed his brother through the snow again, and up the stairs to the porch. Techno opened the heavy spruce doors and let Tommy in, who stopped in his tracks at the sight of two steaming mugs of chocolate on the table by the brewing stands, waiting for them.

Technoblade grunted softly, moving to close the door behind them. “I’ll just drink water for now. You can have mine.”

Tommy’s entire face lit up at that, any worry or gloom from earlier gone in an instant as he turned to Techno. His brother just sighed and nodded again.

Their chill had quickly died out in the heat of the cabin, and the two took off their armor and capes, leaving them in just the shirts underneath with the collars and cuffs. Tommy leaned up against the wall, one mug in his hands, and the second on the floor beside him. The smell of hot cocoa mixed with wood and brewing, warm light contrasting with the stark white outside the windows.

As Em sniffed his boots, curled up by the fireplace, Tommy leaned his head back and sighed, listening to the fire crackle and Phil’s muffled singing outside. He hadn’t felt this at home at Techno’s place before— he hadn’t felt this at home _anywhere_ since he’d lived in Wil’s original L’Manberg, in the caravan. The low roof and cozy layout even reminded him of the old caravan, as well as the potion scents that had burned into the walls. Tommy missed it. 

Except, now he was with Phil and Techno, and he didn’t have the choice to leave. He couldn’t go anywhere else.

Techno was taking his hair out of its braid, before he downed a glass of water and sat down across from Tommy and looked him dead in the eyes. Tommy said nothing, staring back at him while sipping from his drink.

“Tommy, we need to talk. Are you really determined to get those discs?”

Tommy scoffed, lowering the mug. “Well— yes!” He waved one hand as he spoke, “They started everything, they were my prized possessions… they’re _mine_! I need to get them back, and then all of this will be over with.”

Techno narrowed his eyes slightly. Tommy noticed their usual brown color tint slightly red, which wasn’t really anything new… “And Tubbo?”

Tommy froze, before sighing. “...Tubbo doesn’t care. I’ve seen that. Not about the discs, not about me. He only cares about his _government_.” He said it in a bitter, decisive manner, before continuing. “And I used to love L’Manberg, too, but not whatever he’s done to it.”

Tommy paused. Sighed again. “I realize… L’Manberg was dead a _long_ time ago.”

A moment passed.

“So, our paths align.” Techno smirked.

“Huh?”

Technoblade took in a breath, shifting his posture. “You’ve made a decision today that can’t be undone. I respect you for that, Tommy. You’re finally seeing the bigger picture.”

Before he could ask, Philza opened the door and walked in, crossing the room in order to dump his supplies in the chests. “What’s up?” Phil asked, tilting his head to the two of them.

“We need to start from scratch,” Techno replied, prompting Phil to raise his eyebrows questioningly. Tommy just scrunched his face up in that funny way of his, and Techno turned his cognac-colored eyes to him. “See, the two of us have always had our own goals, and those two goals came with a price that the other didn’t want to pay,” he explained. “You want the discs, I don’t wanna be on Dream’s bad side. I crave destruction, you don’t want L’Manberg destroyed. Well, now that’s changed.”

Tommy shut his eyes for a moment, thinking, before they opened and he replied quickly, “Yeah it has. Go ahead— blow up the place. I don’t have attachment to those buildings anymore.”

Phil hummed, sending Tommy a concerned look before turning and smiling to Techno. “So, you’re the one that needs to make the sacrifice.”

“Exactly. If we’re serious about this, Tommy, then we’re risking a lot more than I’m comfortable with. I need to kill Dream to get that disc— at the _least_ , that’s what we need to do— and that alone is going to be very, very difficult.”

Tommy took a big swig from his chocolate while Techno spoke, before he swallowed quickly and whined, “But why? You’ve done it before, you’re _Technoblade_! He fears you!”

Techno chuckled humorlessly. “Well I’m hesitant, sure… but there’s something I haven’t told you yet.” His tone changed, his eyes straying to the ceiling. “Remember when Dream caught us at the community portal? Why he let us go?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I owe him a favor, Tommy, a favor that costs a life. Killing him is going to be a bit difficult if he has that hanging over my head.”

He blinked. “Then make him use it, what’s the deal?”

Techno rolled his eyes. “Well, that’s the _plan_ , but it’s harder than that. Dream already had something in mind at the portal— though I don’t know what it is,” he shrugged. “We need to make him use it through a different approach. Something he can’t get away from, and only then can we even try to get your discs.”

Phil nodded silently, looking somber, but also somewhat proud. 

“How do we do that? What’s your plan?” Tommy asked for him.

“We don’t give him a choice,” Techno replied, the edges of his mouth curling into a grin. “Maybe we can trick him somehow, maybe. Dream’s not very weak physically, I think I know that. But… he _is_ weak _emotionally_.”

Philza chuckled. Tommy drank more chocolate with a blank look, the room falling silent— then his eyes popped open, understanding.

He slammed his mug on the floor next to him, very nearly spilling. His grin was devilish. “If I’m thinking what you’re thinking, then I’m _all. In_.”

. . .

He about had a stroke.

Bad looked up at the window from doing something he couldn’t remember later, because there was a steady stream of _lava flowing from his roof_ — a mass of lethal, scalding, orange and red encasing the wall and setting his lawn on fire. Before the room started to get inevitably toasty, BadBoyHalo was outside and ready to see what it was _this_ time.

Then he _did_ have a stroke.

Bad nearly jumped out of his skin, starting and instinctively pulling out his axe. He sincerely hoped he didn’t have to use it, so he left it hanging at his side and used his free hand to cup his mouth and shout, “Tommy! What are you doing here?” in his high-pitched, frenzied, but predominantly concerned voice.

An empty bucket was held upside-down in the teen’s extended hands, the source of the fiery cascade. The magma from inside was slowly spreading across the mansion’s quartz roof and leisurely dripping down the sides and over the windows, and Tommy— who stood on an elevated slab of stone above the lava, always the harbinger and cause of chaos— watched it all with apathetic eyes. 

His expression brightened a bit at the sound of the voice, quickly shifting from surprised to impish. Tommy playfully shook out the bucket’s last contents, before leaning it on his hip while reaching in his inventory for something else.

“None of your business, Halo, don’t worry about it,” he shot back hastily.

Bad frowned, clutching his weapon more tightly. “Stop! Get off my roof!”

Why was the kid even here? What was the reason— and why wasn’t he invisible, like the many times before?

The lava was nearly at his feet, so he stepped back. He gazed at the mess forlornly, the pool of magma and burning bamboo in front of the house. Skeppy would be distraught… he’d come back to see this!

“Screw you, idiot!” The bucket suddenly hit the concrete next to him, thrown at him from the roof. In Tommy’s hands were now stacks upon stacks of what looked to be dirt, piled in his arms. He stuck out his tongue before scanning the building, turning his attention to the open glass doors with a grin.

“ _Tommy_!” Bad tensed when he saw him make his way toward them. 

Pandora’s Vault stood a few hundred blocks behind Skeppy’s mansion, and both of their arms were heavy from the mining fatigue that plagued the air— with the effect, anyone could move and place and fight fine, but attempting to break _anything_ was a nightmare. If Tommy was planning on caking the entryways with packed soil, and the magma prevented Bad from reaching him in time, that would be hours of wasted time either mining dirt or relocating dozens of angry elder guardians.

Before he could react, a head of creeper-green hair popped into view on his left, behind a wall on that side of the house. Sam grinned awkwardly, eyes hidden behind a mask too similar to Dream’s, dressed in netherite and gold armor and presumably having come from the prison. “Bad? What’s going— uhm.” 

His gaze trailed over to TommyInnit and the griefed mansion, and his worried voice went quiet.

Tommy groaned, rolling his eyes. Two of the doors had already been covered by now. “Ugh, I don’t need you two right now.” He shifted in his inventory again before pulling out a bunch of cold, solid obsidian, the very very _last_ thing Bad needed right now. “Maybe…” the teen mused with a smile.

“Tommy.”

The teen lifted his head. Sapnap brushed past BadBoyHalo with hard amber eyes and a curled lip, blatantly approaching Tommy, Punz following just behind him with the same murderous expression and posture. Punz held his glowing trident and Sapnap had his axe, both armored and looking ready to beat Tommy into the ground— even take his last life.

Tommy looked both terrified and overjoyed, pocketing the obsidian and pulling out his own axe— the _Axe of Peace_. “H-hey guys, what’s up?” he chuckled. “Having a stroll? Nothing to see here, we were just about to wrap up—”

“Not this time, TommyInnit,” Punz snarled, blue eyes glinting. “Get off the mansion, or I’ll come up there and kill you myself.”

He grinned, squaring his shoulders. “I’d like to see you try, moron!”

Punz’s eyes narrowed, something inside him visibly snapping. He pulled out his bow and drew back an arrow, aiming the tip at Tommy’s head. 

But Tommy turned on his heel and leaped off the back of the mansion, likely making a break for the woods— and then, the ocean. 

“ _Don’t let him leave_!”

Tommy was still in sight by the time they circled around the building and spotted him, running into the trees toward his Holiday Home with the Axe of Peace swinging at his side. Both went after him with Sam and Bad a few feet behind, hesitant at first before deciding to follow. All were aware and wary of Tommy’s close ally, but couldn’t let him get away so easily.

And Tommy, laughing at every chance he got to see Punz or Sapnap catching up, was thrilled to lure them far, far away from the SMP.

. . .

The king’s palace in the Greater Dream SMP was a lot more impressive than Techno had originally expected. 

He’d seen its walls up on the hill from the portal before, and all the windows and lanterns lit up at night, but he’d never stood in front of its gates and looked up. It was one of the server’s most beautiful builds, and it was just as intimidating— looming over the faction, seeming to cast a vast shadow and glow at the same time.

The inside was mostly empty, yet just the same, like a house before renovation or after a move. Stone columns and arches and walls rose to towering heights and hung over his head. Echoing, lifeless hallways led to doorways that doubled his height, into chambers darker and emptier than where he had been before, though Techno was fairly certain one of them had to lead to an open courtyard. The tall, sporadically-placed glass windows let in much-needed yellow rays of light that reflected off floating dust. The heels of his boots clicked on the spruce floor and reverberated through the hollow rooms. 

At a glance, the whole building looked vacant— but Techno was looking for something, and he was determined to find it. Though he hadn’t been here before, it wasn’t difficult to run into the throne room.

It was a little more alive than everywhere else, most likely due to a recent shift in power. There were more windows, less dust, a couple of tall potted plants in the room’s corners. 

But most importantly, the throne was occupied.

The king visibly tensed when Technoblade showed up in the doorway. His eyes were hidden behind large, rounded shades, but the rest of his expression said enough. Techno could practically see sweat dripping down his temples.

“Techno?” George spoke, knuckles white from gripping the arms of his chair.

He barely looked like a king. His cape spilled over the side of his throne and down a short flight of steps, and a crown was placed on his head— yet under that were every-day clothes, a blue t-shirt and jeans. Nothing impressive. His posture was decent, and his voice autocratic, but Technoblade knew there was nothing underneath.

He took that as an invitation to come forward. Techno approached slowly, his own cape rippling out behind him, briefly pausing midway. “Greetings, King.”

George’s gaze had shifted away from his eyes a while ago, down to his hands. “Techno, what are you doing here? Put the sword down.”

Ah, his sword. Techno held the beautiful netherite weapon more firmly, smiling unapologetically.

“Sorry, Your Excellency, but I don’t follow your orders.”

. . .

_GeorgeNotFound was slain by Technoblade_.

Dream was there in minutes, quicker than Techno had expected. The man slid into the room with his crossbow drawn, shield up and his axe strapped to his back to be ready at any moment’s notice. He was already sweating, shifting into a half-stance. His mask was on, but his hood wasn’t up, and the leather straps on his leggings looked rushed and a little too tight.

Dream had come in a hurry, and that was exactly what Techno needed.

They were in the bedroom now, after a quick respawn. Before a window on a higher floor, Technoblade held the king in a lock in front of him, with his blade at George’s neck. Dream was on the other side of the room, at the entrance.

“Dream!” George shouted excitedly, at the first sight of his friend. Techno gripped his arm a little tighter.

Dream’s shoulders tightened, but he lowered his bow. “Technoblade! Let him go this _instant_.” 

He spoke lividly, through gritted teeth.

Techno only shook his head, calm in contrast, which seemed to only heighten the admin’s growing anger. “I can’t be doing that, Dream. You know me.” He nodded to the king, “ _All_ government needs to be eradicated. I want my revenge.”

Dream scoffed. “George hasn’t done anything to you!”

He was right, there. If he was being honest, Techno didn’t have anything major against George, and killing him off was about the last thing he’d want to do. He had beef on L’Manberg— not associates of Dream.

But everything was being thrown out the window for this plan, and he basically owed Tommy this one. So, he _had_ to make it count.

“No government ever does any good!” Technoblade contested, lifting the blade up to George’s chin. “It needs to go, and if I have to be the one to do it, then so be it. This is unpreventable…” he paused, “ _unless_ , perhaps, you want to make some sort of deal.”

He could already see the cogs turning in Dream’s head, but the admin masked it and raised the tip of his crossbow ever so slightly, his head tipped downward in a frown.

“Don’t try and blackmail me, Techno. Don’t forget who the server owner is here.”

He laughed. “Oh, this isn’t blackmail, not in the slightest. This will happen, but there’s a chance I can be persuaded— after all, my goal isn’t to upset you. In fact, I’m in this alliance right now… and you’ve actually got something my buddy would really like to have returned.”

Upsetting the admin was exactly his plan, and sure enough, it seemed to be working. Dream realized he wouldn’t be able to shoot Techno in his position, and pulled out his axe instead. His lips were curled and his breathing had picked up since he got here.

Techno was getting somewhere, however, it wasn’t yet enough.

“Over my dead body,” Dream replied, referring to the disc. “Let the king go, or I’ll kill you, take every item you’ve grinded to have, and Sam will lock you in the vault.”

“That could be arranged, too,” Technoblade shrugged. “But, admin or not, I think you know which one of us would win in a duel. Are you willing to take that risk?”

Dream didn’t answer. He continued.

“Well, I am. It’s three full lives against three, right?” Techno paused, then nodded to George again. “Well, except for him.”

“Stop! Let go of him, _now_.”

Technoblade grinned. Dream was stuck, and he couldn’t escape without his allies— who, if Tommy had done his job, were many miles away— George getting hurt, or fighting the Blood God. This was checkmate, and his only obvious way out was to play right into Techno’s hands.

“Three lives, Dream, don’t forget. It’s his death, a duel, or a deal.”

See, there was something everybody knew about Dream. He was intelligent, of course, and always seemed to find a hidden solution to problems that no one else would’ve thought of. There was always a loophole, an alternative. Give him the circumstance, he’ll solve it. He was also very egotistical, self-assured, and wouldn’t buckle to the demands of others— which was why trying to bribe him was completely impossible.

Even emotional, Dream would use his head first.

Which was why— because, if Dream really knew what Techno wanted, he wouldn’t ever consider it an option— Technoblade lied.

He brought the sword closer to George’s neck, close enough to brush skin and nearly draw blood. George made a pained noise, and Techno could tell the exact moment Dream snapped.

“Okay, okay! Let him go.” The admin glowered, as if disappointed, but he’d never really given in— not in his eyes. “The favor. Drop the sword.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never found out whether or not Sam’s prison had the guardians in yet at this point, and as far as I know it didn’t but shhh it’s for the plot
> 
> Hope you enjoyed :)

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t have the other chapters written yet (1/4 probably), but I will CONTINUE to stay up every night and pump these out as best I can, hope u enjoy :)


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